Disclaimer: I own the Get Backers like I own the Internet…if I did I would demand payment…which is why I'm asking.
Author's Notes: Several factors have kept me from getting back to this story both in real life and regarding other stories (Not the least of which I have been catching up on some Get Backers lore, I think I'm up to about volume eight in the manga and I just recently watched the end of the Mugenjou arc of the anime (Makubex got off way too easy in my opinion). I will do my best to update more regularly but don't lose hope I do intend on finishing this story! Now to the show.
Dominus Grim
Chapter Eight: The Only Way
The winds were beginning to pick up again; this well suited the already gray sky which the horribly defiant building seemed to rob of all light. Night was not too far away, and a storm would come as well. Looking out towards the nearest city that long ago decided that the Aku no Kami was not worth even their judgment rather it was just something 'there' were two figures on a ledge, one sitting, one standing as he always did over his ward.
"What do you think…Hirutsuai?" Luther asked to his ever-standing guardian. To which the man in an almost all encompassing ebony shawl turned and replied.
"About what…Lu-Kun?" the violet haired child stood up and looked up to the jewel user and back out towards the bursting sky.
"About…why? Why would the Jackal choose now of all times to return to us and why Kusano doesn't seem to care…and…that book…" Luther took his hands out from his black jean pockets and simply let the cooling breeze rumple his loose long sleeved t-shirt. After watching his charge embrace the breeze with his eyes closed for a moment, Hirutsuai smiled.
"Can you look into thoughts yet Luther?" Luther opened his eyes, seemingly a little frustrated at the question.
"Not quite, but I am getting closer with each passing day…why bring that up?" Hirutsuai continued unhindered.
"I assume you didn't know about Kusano, regarding him and his interest in the book?" Luther dug his hands back into his pockets and sniffed the air, though whether it was from some kind of answer or if he simply had some kind of head cold from the damp atmosphere of the Aku no Kami, Hirutsuai could not be sure.
"I know that he has some kind of history with the Catholic Church, correct?" the taller man in black rested his hand on the smaller ones head and ruffled the hair slightly.
"Yes, they caused him much grief. In a sense I suppose he and that Dominus Grim are quite similar, both cast out of the holy circle that man divined from the Lords word." The two remained this way for a few moments, enjoying the cooling breeze and relaxing atmosphere that was so contrary to the life that awaited them inside.
"I know that he was cast out of Vatican City and from there, he found his way here." The two stopped, unable to continue. Rather, they looked at the world, jealous of their comfort that was jealous of their freedom. Turning their respective backs, Luther and the closely following Hirutsuai made their way down the dank ebony stair way, with only one statement leaving Luther's lips the whole time.
"This place is anarchy, he left, Jackal came, and here we are…"
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An inhuman scream along with the screech of a chain being rapidly dragged across a stone floor shot towards the Jackal. Taking a halfhearted feint left and right as the situation needed, the Transporter easily dodged the wild and haphazard punches thrown by the enslaved man Coal. A jingle of the chain by way of his master the Horrible Clown, Coal increased his speed, throwing out punches and kicks with reckless abandon. Though this effort might be considered a ticket to exhaustion, Coals face and body showed no outward sign of any kind of fatigue, rather, his speed just kept increasing.
"Alas, I was hoping you had grown out of this childish habit Phantom-Kun." Jackal stated, his eyes only lazily following his opponent. Despite the enslaved ones ever increasing speed, Akabane found little cause for concern, just an excuse to let more and more of his own inhuman speed take center stage. Backed against a corner, Jackal arched a leg out and turned his heel. Shocking only his fellow Transporter Himiko, Jackal took two steps up the wall and flipped over Coal, but not before managing to embed three scalpels in his left shoulder trailing up through the side of his neck. Coal collapsed.
"Grown out you say, Kuro-Kun? My what an interesting set of words you've picked up on the outside…wouldn't you agree Coal-Kun?" Akabane quirked an eyebrow and felt an odd pull of an aura behind him. Himiko could only look on in the slightest of awe as Coal got back on his feet.
"The scalpels…they…melted?" Himiko asked, her proximity to the Laughing Phantom and the general unease that brought on momentarily forgotten.
"Closer to vaporized I'd say but yes…Jackie's beloved guitar picks never connected with my dear pets skin." Phantom said, raising his flat top derby hat and looking through the recently made slit in the brim to view the scene. His grin continued to grow along with the point of his chin, showing more and more of disturbingly perfect white teeth.
Akabane began to turn around casually, but quickly shifted about three feet to his right to avoid the rapidly descending fist. Hearing Coals fist make contact with the floor, Akabane peered through the slit in his hat and found to his slight dismay that the cobblestone floor had begun to liquefy.
"His power, Coal's power that is, is he has the ability to absorb the oxygen in a room and raise his own body temperature, the temperature of his skin in the main to quite high levels." Jackal appeared behind Coal, scalpels in hand ready to sever the chain that connected him up and through the Laughing Phantom's sleeve, in a show of macabre one-upping; Coal in turn appeared behind Jackal and due to the man in ebony's surprise, was able to land a vicious right hook to his face.
"Oh silly silly silly silly me, I forgot to mention that with all the oxygen he absorbs, Coal can move…kinda fasty!" Jackal rolled slightly with Coal's punch but managed to speed a few feet away. Touching the cheek that had been hit gingerly, Jackal slightly winced at the blackened dead skin that shown on his once white gloves.
"Jackal!" Himiko yelled, bringing the two vials she had in her hand to bear-
"Hold it my love! Sorry but no interruptions…" Phantom said instantaneously setting a good dozen amount of chains up and around Himiko. Though not actually binding her this time, Himiko was now caught in a very small barrier. "That my dark skinned queen of bed room eyes is a "Barrier of Lost Blood", cool huh? It's essentially a very sensitive barrier of chains smothered in the blood of the blind and deaf that will kill you in any number of ways should you disturb them…of course I'm sure you've never encountered anything like that with any girly men…right?" Himiko glared but felt a slight trickle of sweat. "If you're impatient though just wait a little while, the chains will go off on their own; a little breeze will set them off…its just that simple!" Phantom began to laugh again, only to be cut off as he narrowly avoided a swipe by Akabane. Seeing his miss, Akabane smiled his smile that made him worthy of his animal epithet.
"My, it is somewhat refreshing that you haven't lost your sense of humor Phantom-Kun, should you like to die laughing I wonder?" Phantom grinned in a disgusting innocence as he avoided two more swipes by Akabane who promptly had to dodge Coals incoming attack.
"More oxygen Aka-Chan, the more oxygen my Coal absorbs the faster he becomes and the more intense heat he can generate." Jackal was once again forced to dodge Coals punches only this time said punches had immense ripples in the air accompanying them. Though the punches themselves now had an incredible amount of growing heat around them, Jackal was still dodging the furious attacks with only the interest of a child trying to placate his parents. The Doctor in him wanting to experiment Jackal appeared behind Coal again, bringing his scalpels down through the mini hellish atmosphere his body created. Jumping back with a grimace turned smile, Jackal tossed away the melted stubs that were once precision medical tools while lamenting the black and silver stains on his glove.
"It would seem that normal methods of surgery are not applicable with this patient. Perhaps…a more creative approach?" Jackal mused to himself let his body fall back a bit, only to disappear in a blur of speed of again.
Meanwhile from within her chain prison, Himiko did her best to at least witness the battle. This task was made slightly more difficult by the gently rattling chains that promised death and the droplets of blood that fell on her as proof that these chains were quite good at keeping their promises.
"Damn it! I can't just let myself…I can't just let myself be a hostage, what would my brother think…or that snake idiot?" silencing her thoughts, Himiko closed her eyes and let the vapors or rather forced the vapors out from within their vials. Predatory eyes turned to her, baring witness to her entrapment and the Jackals dance with death with equal parts lust and joy.
"Psst…I wouldn't…just me but you're little wind probability with scents thing…if anything touches or…heh…stimulates the chains they'll go off." Phantom accentuated his respect for Himiko by bending his back and putting his hand near his mouth as if whispering to an infant. The witch of the seven poison perfumes didn't respond just concentrated, which caused a slight lapse of curiosity in Phantom who promptly darted his glances back and forth between the fight and his chained lust interest.
Jackal had at this point, flipped up and bounded off a wall, throwing down a small barrier of scalpels to slow down Coal who merely turned them to liquid steel. Dodging his fists again, Jackal had only to keep increasing his speed to outmatch his opponents and the situation remained the same. This of course made it hard to cut the chain that connected Coal to Phantom.
"Cutting the chain won't do you no good like ya did my heart!" Phantom called out in a very bad singsong country western tone. "But seriously, you cut the chain at any time but one and…welly welly…we all burn in helly." Landing back on his two feet, Jackal dodged two more punches, raising the brim of his hat, the Jackal no longer smiled.
"A boring fight with only one solution…you certainly know frustration Clown-Kun." Jackal said, jumping straight up to avoid a lunging bear hug by Coal who upon missing skidded into the floor turning it to smoke and twisted cobblestone magma.
"Yes…oh yes this is good. He's losing his precious cool...he's been gone too long and now he's so close I can taste it, no, I can feel it!" Phantom thought to himself, a light drop of sweat falling from his still deformed chin. The collapse of something large brought Phantom out of his Dante style thoughts. In a rare show of slight fear, he turned around to find his chain barrier down to a few chains dissolving on the floor.
"What the…hell?" he asked, seeing Himiko standing there, her eyes opening quickly.
"You said the chains were pressure sensitive, not the blood itself. Blood has a scent, a scent can be construed as a vapor, and from there it was just a simple matter of forcing some erosion vapor into the blood on the chains." Phantom raised his left arm slowly, an ever so slightly nervous grin playing itself on his face. Allowing her opponent only a single step back, Himiko smirked and downed some of the contents of one of her vials. In an instant a jet stream of flame had shot out from her mouth, causing Phantom to dodge with a curious look on his face.
"Flame scent? Do you have a personal affinity for that or something? It's too slow my little lamb." Himiko continued smiling and shot the flames again, and again Phantom dodged them with ease while deftly swinging the chain that connected him Coal out of flames way.
"My partner is a good deal more spirited than you can handle Phantom-Kun, you would do well not to anger her." Akabane stated, looking to his Transporter compatriot. Himiko ceased her attack for a moment and looked at Akabane as best she could with his hat in the way. But their eyes managed to meet and the meaning was understood. Lady Poison then continued her assault as the now aptly laughing Laughing Phantom was guffawing heavily in tune to his casually dodging her flames.
"Spirited? I took it that Miss Himiko Kudo was the smart one of your group, if this is what defines intelligence here in the Pacific then I guess stereotypes really aren't true! Come on sweet suckling, repetition and endurance will really help you out on the wedding night!" another dodge, and the room was getting even hotter.
Jackal himself was casually dodging, almost in sync with Laughing Phantom, but unlike Laughing Phantom whose opponent showed little fatigue, Akabane found the task of ducking and dodging Coals attacks becoming easier by the second. It quickly got to the point where Coal was about as fast as a normal man, possibly slower as the weariness of the fight it seemed was finally registering within his body. Seeing his opportunity, Jackal appeared behind the tired Coal and following his blurred image was a light spray of blood from the scalpel cuts he gave in the previous eye blink. Seeing his pet in danger Phantom stopped himself and dashed out of the way of another flame stream.
"What the hell! Coal; get your lazy ass up off the ground! Your master, your daddy, your fuehrer commands it Frau Line!" Phantom then went on in what started off as some kind of faux German that then quickly degenerated into odd noises and whistles. Cut off by another jet stream, Phantom dodged but soon found his lack of concentration had affected his evasive maneuver as evidenced by the series of singes all over his left arm.
"Oh my, I certainly hope my flame scent didn't do anything to upset you Mister Phantom." Himiko said with a smirk befitting the Cheshire cat. Then it dawned on the Clown.
"You…clever little bi-…girl you." Phantom did an odd little dance while applauding. "You used your flame scent knowing that the fire would hog all the oxygen Coal would use, very-"Phantoms' exposition was cut off by the Jackal appearing at his flank, with a pair of scalpels at the ready.
"Clever, ta ta." In a moment and two flashes later, the Jackal brought down his blades only to have them deflected at the very last conceivable moment by the Phantoms' apparently semi sentient chains. Reappearing some distance away from the pair, the Phantom clutched his right shoulder where a somewhat deep cut had been eked out from what could have been a lost arm. Compounding this was a few drops of crimson from the Phantoms now less than gorgeous visage. A curious look on his face, Phantom almost shakily brought a hand to his cheeks and forehead where the cuts were located. Finding the blood on his white gloves, he then slowly, almost sensually licked it.
"It's been…so long…since I've bled…I suppose…" Phantom looked at the slowly approaching Jackal and following Himiko. "I had forgotten what my own blood tasted like…such a curious flavor it is…" Himiko winced a bit at this little confession, but dashed forward with Akabane all the same, only to have the Phantom vanish again.
"If it's your own blood you seek then why all the little shows and slaves? Why not just resign yourself to me Phantom-Kun?" Akabane asked, out of threat and of some curiosity. Phantom had served himself another drop or two of blood.
"Because I'd much rather see where Kusano takes us, he promised me that we would all go to Hell so of course I couldn't help but assist him in any manner, provided the end goal is what I imagine it to be." Himiko stifled a sharp intake of breath, Jackal quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Have a said a little too much? Consider it a sugar covered treat for my love and my bestest pal who pleasure cut me, Coal!" Phantom yelled to the still panting and kneeling Coal. The Clown then raised his hand and shot off some chains into the ceiling. After some jingling and jangling could be heard, a sizable chunk of the ceiling collapsed, revealing the sky.
"Did his chains just-?" Himiko began to ask.
"Yes, he was able to integrate some of his chains through manipulation of his aura into the ceiling, erasing their structural integrity through sheer force of will." Explained the Transporter, his eyes and face neutral again.
"Coal, go after the Jackal, show him what a home cooked meal is like by Laughing "Kiss the Cook" Phantom!" Laughing to the point of lunacy at his own bad humor, the sudden rise in heat and aura soon gave reason to his mirth. Turning around, Akabane found Coal, an even more intense series of heat waves being given off by his body, bearing down on him. Narrowly able to jerk his body out of direct impact from Coals fist, Jackal still felt an incredible heat accompanied by an odd smell. Finding with a start that his left sleeve was on fire, Jackal was forced back.
"What happened? His speed has at least tripled since the last skirmish." Akabane thought, his back to a literal wall, and his left arm on fire. Thinking as quickly as Coal dashed forward, Jackal drove four scalpels down through the fire; cloth and skin of his left arm and let his blood commingle with the fire, naturally he grunted a bit.
"Bloody Firestorm." His blood in the fire warped and twisted the wisps and tongues of the flame into scalpels, but in shape only. The dozens upon dozens of fiery scalpels then lashed out at Coal whose body easily disregarded the knives of fire.
"I suppose I forgot to mention in all the action packed fight scenes that Coals' power is largely dependent on the amount of oxygen in the room at a given time. Before we were just in a damp little stink hole with only some sewer air…now, courtesy of my newly renovated skylight we have a (relatively) fresh supply of oxygen to give Coal a power of over one million!"
"What the hell is he talking about?" Himiko thought to herself, finding Phantom distracted, she considered her next move. Given the staggering amount of oxygen in the air, her previous strategy was now a bust. Broken out of her thoughts, Himiko ducked and tumbled out of the way of a snaking chain, leaving a jagged gash where she once was.
"Aw, don't feel left out little one, come join Poppa over here now." Phantom cooed. Himiko could feel a growl in her throat but kept it down, she had to maintain control. Diving to the ground again and again, narrowly avoiding the violent lashing chain, Himiko cast some Erosion perfume and finding to her relief that the chains at least reacted to that as shown by the basic nubs they now were. "Women are just intimidated by the bigger ones I suppose." Phantom said with a well-acted "can't beat em, join em" sigh. Himiko, finding her opportunity, sniffed a careful amount of Acceleration scent and almost literally sailed across the room. Phantom, a bit off from his wounds courtesy of the Jackal and his watching Coals fight with said Jackal, was too slow to react to Himikos' first punch, or the kick that followed. However, he was able to move out of her reach as well as Coals chain out of her reach once his bearings returned.
With his left arm now cut, burnt, and lacking a decent supply of blood, Akabane was left to fight Coal with only one real usable arm. The combatants running along side each other regarded their next moves in a split second, one based on the instincts of a killer and the other on the instincts of a killer by proxy. Coal opened his palm towards the Jackal and using his other as support, fired a burst of pure heat out of his palm. Despite his speed, Jackal found himself about to be over taken.
"…Damn it all…Bloody Torrent!" in a rare yell Akabane tossed out more than a half dozen scalpels with one hand and painfully snapped his bloodily burnt fingers with the other.
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"Ms Hai?" asked a voice from what sounded like in an aquatic tank of some kind.
"Yes Kusano-Kun?" the woman in the ivory coat and matching white hat asked, the lilt in her voice at both times full of personable and disturbing qualities.
"Do you believe in our Lord?" the sound of something lifting itself out of a pool of water could be heard.
"What an odd question to ask…especially to me considering my roots." Ms. Hai responded, her blood red lips dancing to the difference in her pale white skin and shimmering black hair. Almost like a wet puzzle of all the wrong pieces being forced together, a series of odd noises was made. Then the sound of a pair of bare wet feet walking towards Miss Hai's direction.
"Yes, it is quite odd isn't it? If one were to think about you and your biological and familial ties to this 'Aku No Kami', they would not think much of your opinions concerning the existence of a higher power. But I feel that is wrong, clothes please." Ms. Hai maintained her nearly bloody smile and tossed a set of elaborate looking clothes towards the semi-wet figure in the dark. "It is wrong to disregard the faith of one based on the nature of their own being, that's the mistake the City of Vatican made, both with me and," He looked towards the computers now in standby mode "Certain other things."
"While I genuinely your appreciation of my opinions I do think we have other more pressing concerns at the moment." Kusano joined her in the light, his somewhat different looking attire belonging more to duke or possibly an archbishop. Though his feet were still bare.
"As always you cut straight to the point." Kusano said with some mirth not native on his contorted scowl of a face. Shifting his still wet hair until it dried in a wild almost feral look, Kusano casually ambled to another set of computers, Miss Hai following in an ivory sway. "The Jackal is being tested; pardon the pun, but it looks like he's being given a trial by fire." Kusano muttered, watching the live feed of the death match between Akabane and Coal.
"No cameras and yet we have full surveillance, the power of faith is something spectacular." Miss Hai said, watching the explosive point of the battle. Kusano grunted in contempt.
"This is hardly faith, more like a bastardization of alchemy if one were to be specific, but never mind that. Why the hell isn't Laughing Phantom fighting himself?"
"He only listens when it's convenient to his agenda, you know that. He probably thought it would be funnier if Coal fought Kuro-Kun." Kusano continued looking at the screen his eyes lost in something intangible.
"How many transgressions of the faith have I committed I wonder?" he asked himself, Miss Hai looked at him for a moment, her smile never leaving as she had built a suitable immunity to these kinds of questions coming from him. "Where are the others?" he asked, seemingly bringing himself back.
"Hangman is gone, most likely making some last minute preparations, I just received word from Kanryu and Harukai-Chan that they are en route to the Retrievers Shizuka is currently pursuing and Luther along with Hirutsuai have just been spotted somewhere in the Thirteenth Hall." Miss Hai said, her insult towards Harukai notwithstanding, Kusano listened and absorbed it all. As if in tune to his will, another monitor turned on and there were seen two figures running down a random hallway.
"Those two are…quite well known around the Shinjuku area are they not?" Kusano said, regarding the running figures of the brunette and blond retrievers.
"Yes, they call themselves "The Get Backers". One is the former Lightning Emperor of the Volts, the former Raitei Ginji Amano and the other is known as Ban Mido. Supposedly Mido somehow brought him out of the Volts somehow."
"He's not full blooded." Kusano muttered, looking at the screen.
"Hm?" Miss Hai responded with her smile in blood red lips.
"That one, Mido Ban, he's not a pure blooded Japanese man. Interesting."
"Well, Laughing Phantom isn't Japanese at all…"
"That he isn't indeed my dear Miss Hai." The sound of plodding could be heard, and rapid typing began again. "You know what needs to be done, so do it." Miss Hai did a mock bow.
"Oh yes pet master, I will do your adult heart any deed it desires." The sound of effeminate chuckling could be heard in sequence with the typing, as a book was analyzed and reanalyzed, pages being turned and turned back at rates per second, with a set of two windows on the monitor screen detailing a pair running, and a nearly imperceptible image through smoke and rubble.
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"Damn it…what the hell was that?" Ban asked, both to himself and to his best friend/fellow Get Backer Ginji. The two had been running at a sprint for a good twenty minutes and after apparently losing their fauna pursuers, found themselves panting to recover their energy in the middle of a black hallway that began to twist into curves any further from where they were.
"I dunno Ban-chan, I think they were animals right?" Ban sparked a cigarette, lacking even the yellowish light one of the previous rooms the glow from the lighter and in turn the cigarette was a slightly futile but welcome reprieve all the same.
"You idiot, of course they were animals, my question was why they were going after us like that." Finally being given some time to sort through the chase Ginji slumped against a wall, finding its cool exterior to be comforting he slid down until he was sitting. "Tch, knowing him that monkey trainer asshole was probably sent here on a job to get that book." Ginji looked up at his casually smoking partner with thoughtful eyes.
"It wasn't Shido Ban-chan." Ban was caught off a little bit.
"What the hell are you talking about Ginji? Despite all the weird shit we've seen I think I'd remember if there were two people in our lives who could control animals like that." Ban was noticeably frustrated and justifiably so. Hell, he wasn't even totally sure why he was here in the first place. It's not as if he was truly worried about Himiko? Maybe, possibly, but that scent, her tracking scent had sparked his curiosity…
"Trust me Ban, I know, and I have a feeling if you really thought about it you'd know too." Ginji said with a smile that was much more intelligent than first impressions of it. Ban hated to love that smile, that smile that spoke volumes of character and truly knowing a person to the point of actually sharing a mind.
"Yeah yeah, whoever the hell that was didn't smell as bad as the freakin monkey…or maybe they did and this place just kind of overpowered the stink."
"Yeah I know what you mean. This place has a bad smell, more like a really bad feeling actually." Ginji said, looking left and right towards the opposite ends of the hallway while simultaneously trying to forget some of the wet mass objects he and Ban had ran into before running here.
"It's the scent of blood Ginji, of death." Ban said, finishing Ginji's observation.
"Blood…and death?" Ginji said nearly in line with the click in his brain. "Akabane…this place, as long as I'm here I can't help but think of him." Ban nodded, silently impressed by Ginji's perception.
"Definitely, this place has an aura around that's too much like his to be a coincidence. And that fucking animal got Himiko involved?" Ginji slowly got up, about to say something to reassure Ban about Himikos' knack for survival.
"…Ban…it's that noise again." Ginji said. Ban's eyes bulged a bit beneath his sunglasses.
"It's that inverted beast whistle…Ginji, move!" they both dashed to one side, found their pursuers and as fast as they could move they were blocked again, suddenly from both ends of the hall the duo was surrounded. The animal beasts, each with their own abnormalities both physical and not, stopped at arms length from their prey.
"Hey Ban…why'd they stop?" Ginji asked, back to back with Ban. Ban was busy darting his eyes left and right.
"Dunno don't care, we have to break through!" Ban opened his right hand and lunged outward meanwhile Ginji was about to protest the attacking of the animals but too quickly found the logic behind Bans maneuver and followed suit.
"Well well, looks like we're in the presence of some real celebrities." Ban was stopped from his forward attack by a hailing line of lit matches. Skidding to a halt, he simultaneously cursed the wearing down of his semi-new loafers and this interruption. Seeing his opponent despite the relative darkness and his own violet shades, Ban squinted his trained eyes to find his opponent.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" at the same moment Ginji began to feel his electrical power literally seep off and away from him.
"H-huh?" he stuttered, looking to the direction of the fading light Ginji was more than a little surprised to find a man glowing almost quite festively with his electricity. What made Ginji gulp a bit was his appearance, a broken down hazardous material suit with rips and holes all over, showing his jet-black southward hair.
"Damn it, Ginji, these friends of yours?" Ban asked, tensing.
"No, not these guys, they're…Ban there's something about…"
"Holy shit, you guys are the 'Get Backers'? You look like a couple a skanks!" the one who threw the matches commented, his bandanna fluttering behind him as he walked. "Yo Kanryu, they qualify as she males or just girls?" match man asked, oblivious to Ginjis' semi-pout and Ban's throbbing vein.
"What the fuck you call us you flaming match dick!" the Jagan master bellowed, startling some of the animals from their apparent trance.
"B-b-ban-chan, do we really look like girls?" Ginji asked, border lining on tare transformation. This scene of Ban growling and Ginji sobbing to the abrasive laughter of the match man continued for a good thirty to thirty-two seconds.
"Shut up all of you." The one in the gas mask stated his voice almost humanly mechanical. The bickering group stopped, halted by his voice. A few awkward seconds went by until the sound of footsteps coming up behind Kanryu replaced the silence.
"Hey dirt blood, we all right to do whatever the hell we want?" the match wielder quipped to the new comer, a strictly tomboyish but still feminine woman.
"Shidos…sister?…wait, who are you?" Ginji, completely in the dark literally and figuratively, asked to this figure, she looked very familiar. She only smiled a bit as a response.
"Monkey girl eh?" Ban muttered. Kanryu looked to the woman.
"Shizuka, what are the orders?" Shizuka then placed her fingers betwixt her lips and blew, forcing all the waiting animals into kneeling and resting positions.
"The orders are…to do whatever the hell you damn well please, Kanryu and Harukai-chan." Shizuka said, walking back a bit amongst her animals and watching Harukai's reaction.
"Watch your fucking mouth woman. You're only alive by circumstance, nothing more. Soon as this is over I'm burning you alive with your fucking estrogen as fuel." Harukai said, stepping towards the pair of retrievers, now ringed by the resting animals.
"We do not have time to mess with you assholes; just get the hell out of our way-"Ban was cut off by a series of matches thrown inches from his nose. Only by virtue of his beyond human reflexes did he avoid a literal "flaming" haircut.
"Harukai Okita, I figure a man, even a womanish one like you deserves the name of his killer at the very least." Harukai stated with a somewhat contented smile on his face, his hand still outstretched and now, a second after the previous attack now filled again between the knuckles with lit matches. Ban looked slowly with a serious glare doing his best to size up his opponent. This process was naturally cut short when said opponent threw about twice the amount of matches as before, and followed up with a charge.
"We don't have to fight you kn-"Ginji attempted to reason.
"You're the Lightning Emperor, the Raitei?" Kanryu asked.
"I guess I am, I mean I was." Ginji replied, feeling a bit of apprehension from this line of questioning.
"You're absolutely nothing like him, at all." Kanryu stated, standing perfectly calm and still even as the fight between Ban and his friend Harukai escalated. Despite the whole situation, the danger, the chance of death lurking, Ginji couldn't help but smile.
"That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me." His smile turned to one of shock and of a grimace as he bent backwards suddenly. Kanryu landed on his feet behind Ginji, the knife from his right gauntlet extended. Ginji felt a few beads of sweat dance down his brow as he straightened his back and jumped in time to avoid another knife swipe. This time, Kanryu appeared with a knife jutting from his left gauntlet. Turning his head slightly, Ginji found Shizuka letting slip a slow whistle from, bringing her animals back to their feet and back to their attack positions.
"Kanryu Saito, my name to you Pseudo-Raitei."
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"Miss Hai? Miss Hai? Figures, when I actually need her she's not even here…" Kusano mumbled, continuing his simultaneous observation of the fights and his research into the book under the cameras. Typing away at speeds rivaling a certain computer boy genius, Kusano's eyes flitted to and fro across the screen, taking in all the data they need and discarding what was not. A pad of paper was being written on by a detached hand, also his doing, it was the blessing that gave him the ability to decipher and log things like no man can, and the curse to never truly be a whole man. After a few more moments of typing one of the keyboards in the back gave way with a pop and a crash. Yet another detached hand pushed it into a growing pile of dead keyboards and replaced it with a fresh one in the stable line of seven.
The book itself The Dominus Grim, had been read and reread. Looked at and looked over at this particular moment in time about three dozen times. And all this time notes, physical written notes had been taken.
"I wonder Lord, do you approve of this, of this action?" he asked to what some might consider no one, some might consider the only 'one' with meaning. He continued typing, the pages on the screen being logged and looked over, indexed and cross-referenced with whatever information the Internet could offer. Though mostly bunk some of the information from there could be useful.
"If you do not, why let me live? Why did you let me survive? To continue this, to keep going and keep analyzing this damn book that's captivated me so?" a pen broke. In a quick reaction before any ink forever blotted out the written words, he tossed the pen and replaced it with another. Thus the process could continue unhindered.
"Why not smite me yourself oh Lord, if your men lack the necessary perception and ability to do it themselves? And of Judas? What of Judas, Lord?"
0000000000
From without the Aku no Kami, where the air was relatively fresh and the sky was just beginning to darken, another vehicle appeared on the country road over the horizon. Joining the white ladybug currently in park, the all black sedan with a cross emblazoned on the hood stopped.
"Ah, my lovely Joanette. How does the vile air greet you?" one of the figures in the backseat said, standing up and surveying the building and the bloody presence it gave off. This odd juxtaposition of life from without the building and the death within did not go unnoticed. The man whipped his straight black ponytail, which flipped in the wind along with his single cross earring. Standing fully erect his long black coat was free to float and wave with the light breeze, revealing his black undershirt and single red cross.
To his question, another figure stepped out from the back seat. This one, the girl named Joanette, had long ebony hair tied into a long single braid; slowly almost meekly she stood by the man. To the man's nearly all black attire, her flesh tone dress seemed an odd contrast, save for the black necklace around her neck showing something akin to a lower case 't' or half of a cross. The girls pretty face and deep maroon eyes showed the very slightest wisp of frustration. Noticing this, the man in black grinned a bit and lowered his clear glasses.
"Don't worry my dear, our good and gracious Lord took away that which was most precious? You are here as part of his will, feel proud! You are about to do a great service and you will be rewarded. You will have what was taken away. The lamb shall return to the flock." A tapping on the windshield brought the man from his speech.
"Father Corsair, is this really a good idea? You know that your standing in the Vatican is tenuous at best and-" the driver began.
"A good idea? Nonsense and a pox on you for speaking such ill. A service for the Lord is always a 'good idea'." The driver nodded his head hurriedly.
"Yes sir, I understand that but-"
"But…nothing my good man. All those who disagree with my previous statement deserve nothing but the fires of wrath…right, my dear?" Father Corsair motioned to Joanette, who merely look slightly down with her eyes half lidded.
"What about…him, the one you're here for?" the driver asked, his heart rate reaching new heights. Corsair then took out a book from his chest, a book that many would associate as directly to his identity. Tapping the holy Christian bible twice with a smile, he made his way into the building, Joanette lightly nodding her head to the driver. The driver then sped off thanking his Lord that he had survived an encounter with 'that' man, the priest of the Vicious Cross.
"Hmm hmm into the den we go…" Corsair hummed/sung to himself, not caring that he and his woman companion were going deeper and deeper, their or rather his arrogance violating what an outsider should act like. The Formers attacked from the darkness, as they were prone to do, greeted only with a smile and a book.
0000000000
Within now a whole wing of the building, the heat was steadily rising. The closer one would get to a certain room, the more unstable the floors, walls, and ceiling would become. Until they of course reach the epicenter.
"Jackal!" Himiko cried out. Corking her erosion perfume, she quietly thanked Kami that she had had the reflexes to dissolve all the large parts of rubble jettisoned her way. Peering through the haze of smoke and steam, Lady Poison did her best to assess the situation as well as stay on her own two feet. The horrid abundance of heat was weighing heavily on her, the obvious fact that the only reason she hadn't burst into flame was due to Coals and by extension Laughing Phantom's will was not lost on her, and it disgusted her.
"Oh yes baby. This is the way fighting should be. It's so close now I can see it, I can actually see it!" Laughing Phantom yelled with freakish glee, suspended upside down on one of the few still existing ceilings, his chains acting as anchors. Stumbling a bit, Himiko kept her acceleration perfume at the ready while silently lamenting her abuse of it and the adverse affect it would have on her body.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Laughing Phantom, like some very disturbed puppet masters marionette, twirled on his chains and faced Himiko.
"Did you know at some of his hotter temperatures, Coals been clocked at something like 3500 degrees or something…sand to glass for your lesson today children." He mumbled. Himiko was meanwhile trying to figure if she could make the jump to his position, evidently even with the extension of her acceleration scent it would still be a gamble. This thought and reasoning was quickly cut off as the heat began to increase again, with a quick and surprised scream, Himiko found parts of her clothes beginning to combust into flames. Ducking out of the way of the Phantom's salivating glare and behind a discarded boulder sized concrete shard, Himiko brought out her antidote perfume, hoping against hope that her cure for flame perfume applied here.
"It's here, it's right here." Laughing Phantom said, suddenly landing very cat-like next to Himiko who to her relief found that her antidote perfume did indeed apply to externally caused fires.
"Wh-what are you talking about, what's 'right here'?" the Witch of the Seven Perfumes asked, getting back to her feet. Finding herself in doubt if she could fight a two front war against Phantom and her body's own rapid deterioration, Himiko considered her options with the very last option being an attack leading to a last blaze of glory.
Suddenly an ebony blur passed straight over them and collided in the opposite wall. After the first few seconds of shock, the debris and rubble separated and gave way to reveal their cause.
"Akabane?" Himiko asked, rather than yelled, surprised that the Jackal could even conceivably be hit or attacked like that. Or rather she was surprised to a point that he could be hit or attacked at all. Stumbling a bit into a run, she was cut off by Laughing Phantom appearing again in front of her, an almost manically gentle grin on his face.
"You're wondering aren't you? Why things are so different here, why Akabane is wavering from victim to victimizer…why even you can feel this building edging away at you?" Laughing Phantom said, seemingly unaffected by the still rising heat level.
"…" Himiko couldn't summon up a response, the conditions were quickly becoming unbearable and her body was being pushed to its brink.
"Haven't you ever wondered just where The Jackal actually learned those delightful little "Bloody" moves? Hmm? He learned a good deal if not all of them here, from two people besides teaching himself…" Himiko was beginning to waver, the weight on her was making her blurry eyed. Reaching as best she could for a vial, she still held enough of the mind of a professional to know the specific poison in her grasp.
"He's been wavering, being here, breathing this air, fighting these creatures. He's close, close to his ascension." Phantom went on, his eyes fully on the fight, disregarding Himiko. His grin began to take more manic qualities. "He's being brought back! This is it! Coal will be the catalyst that sets this all-"
"Why do you feel the need to talk so much?" Himiko in an arc motion of her arm cast one of her scents. Jumping straight up before the cloud of poison could settle Phantom reacted by sending a series of four chains straight at the girl. Her reactions now sluggish to non-existent, the witch girl was ensnared easily and painfully. Landing back on his feet the Horrible Clown shushed Himiko as one would a disobedient toddler.
"Just watch."
0000000000
Through the steam and smoke, among the burning hot cobblestone remains that had yet to be liquefied, Akabane lay against a wall, coughing ever so slightly. Standing up slowly with a repressed grimace, the Transporter adjusted his hat with his odd left arm and with his right at least attempt to dust off the cinder, ash and some blood from his person.
"You truly live up to your name…" Akabane said, his almost carefree smile reasserting itself on his slightly cut and burned face. Into the wrecked remains of the chamber ahead of him, Coal lightly touched down toes first. Seeing his opponent still alive, Coal stopped to consider his actions. A light tug on the chain connecting the back of his neck to a certain Clown quickly halted any deliberation. His heated aura flaring up again Coal began his approach towards the Jackal.
Though one more adept at killing and maneuvering to make said killing easier and more enjoyable, Akabane also had first rate powers of observation. Seeing his opponents face, he wondered.
"Are you even enjoying yourself in this? Does this little skirmish even register with you?" Coals face remained in the same impassive glare since the beginning. "I see, how sad that you cannot even enjoy the thrill of living, or in this case flirting with death I suppose." Coal's approach continued, his heat field increasing, leaving smoldering almost lava-like footprints in his wake.
"What do you want Coal-san? Is it death?" the approach continued, the heat increased. Jackal adjusted the brim of his hat to see Coal through its infamous slit.
"If it is death you want, step forward and I shall give you that release you desire." And then from the distance.
"His wants and needs are irrelevant Jacky-kun! He's a tooled slave now, either choose to ascend or die here like the dregs we tower over!" Laughing Phantom yelled out from over some stone wreakage. A rapid flick of the chain quickly sent Coal charging at Akabane. His heated presence now radiating like a shuttle upon atmospheric reentry.
"Choice…"
0000000000
"Did you hear?"
"What?"
"Someone's burned all the Formers at gate six-sixty seven!"
"Burned?"
"Yeah,
literally burned!" the two men, two comrades within the Aku no Kami
by necessity. Both were cast out of their former lives due to
horrendous manslaughter and various other acts of 'mischief'.
But now they were merely running back towards the entrance of the
horrid building, wanting to see the cause of the sudden decrease in
Formers.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Hangman asked or rather almost insulted from his perch atop the entryway. His lanky form in odd balance with the gigantic scythe he refused to go anywhere without. To his question, a single figure stood in the middle of the early evening breeze, surrounded by the ashes of the creatures once human.
"Heh, only here a couple months and already we get another fucking crasher." Harukai said, flipping some matches into his knuckles. Kanryu held his shoulder, holding him back from confronting the intruder just yet. Harukai looked into the gas mask that constituted his friends face, about to protest but then relented. Then, the warped animals gathered around the intruder, keeping their distance as best they could from this mans obvious abilities.
"Oh good, genetic trash to fight external trash." Hangman darkly joked, accentuating his point by spitting when Shizuka entered. The mistress of freakish beasts brushed off the scythe wielder with a one-fingered salute and stood where she was.
"What brings you here, friend?" Miss Hai stated with a silky voice that matched her entry from behind Shizuka. The figure in question that all eyes seemed to focus on, turned his head towards Miss Hai.
"I was told…I was told to come here, to escape and forget I think is what he said…" the man with the red and white streaked black hair stated, his presence still radiating a physical heat and an intangible ferocity. Miss Hai smiled from beneath her ivory hat and from all listeners accounts seemed to sigh with nostalgia.
"To follow the scent of blood? Well then, you're certainly welcome…if you're willing to…"
"I am, that should be obvious." He said, walking to face this woman in white. Said woman maintained her smile and stepped out of his way slowly, letting him walk into hell.
"My my, quite the arrogant little prick isn't he?" Hirutsuai asked from the very top of the building having witnessed all the days' events. Luther looked out over the edge, his head propped up by his hands.
"His name is Coal I think. I heard he was driven here by something…something tragic."
As Coal entered the Aku no Kami, with the various others following him and then splitting and diverting into the various hallways and rooms the structure had to provide, he was oblivious. Oblivious to the watching clown in the dark behind the entrance, tracing a chain on the wall behind him.
Months would go by, as units of time tend to do.
"What? She's still alive? You know! Where? Where is she!" Coal yelled, grabbing Laughing Phantom by the shoulders and shaking him with a tad of violence.
"Hmm? You're asking me for help? Well I don't know. My assistance and love don't come cheap…but then you've said some mean things about me haven't you?"
A few more hours went by.
"Now there, doesn't that feel better pet." Laughing Phantom said to his latest 'acquisition', now on four legs and with a face devoid of human life.
"Choice…"0000000000
"I beat him pretty easily, that I did." Laughing Phantom said, though Himiko was sure, was it possible there was a hint of doubt in his voice?
0000000000
The heat was growing, liquefaction was now a standard, and at the rate the numbers were going vaporization would have to be the next step. The immediate vicinity around Coal was just that, a vaporous hellish atmosphere that only he could navigate.
"Dr. Jackal, move! I know you have your pleasures but this is insane!" Himiko yelled, her voice quickly muffled by a chain wrapping itself around her mouth.
"Pleasures…?" Akabane muttered questioningly. Coal was coming even closer; Akabane had now bowed his head.
"Is he resigned I wonder?" Laughing Phantom asked whilst stroking his chin, ignorant to Himiko twisting and wriggling her relatively small body out the hold of the chains.
Then, something inaudible pierced the air and overwhelmed the witnessing pair.
"His aura…his presence…" Himiko said, finally reaching her vial of erosion scent.
"Yes…he's here…right-" Coal was now less than an arms length away from the most hated man in the transportation business. The Jackal then raised his head, his eyes passed completely into the hues of blood red.
An ebony blur passed almost into Coal, and then up and over. Akabane now stood behind his opponent, the tail of his long coat only now fluttering to catch up with him. Coal screeched to a halt and turned around.
"Bloody Rain." A storm of scalpels rained down on Coal who promptly dissolved them, or would have if his aura hadn't of for lack of a better term 'crapped out' on him. Being hit with the full force of the knives, the reason for the disruption was quickly revealed, a deep footprint had appeared in his chest, caving it in quite a ways. Coughing up some blood, Coal stumbled a bit, and coughed up some more fluid but his expression, despite all the pain he should feel, all the agony he should be feeling, his expression remained decidedly neutral. The only difference was the blood dripping almost elegantly down his chin.
"…He is…something different entirely…" Himiko said in absolute awe and more than a little fear. Laughing Phantom looked on, ignoring the girl behind him.
"You're still so sycophantic, the real Jackal would have dissolved my fucking pet by now, he-screw it, I never need to justify myself." Taking a breath he jingled the chain to get Coal to attack again. Phantom found the need to continue this little exposition quite unnecessary.
"What is going on?" He asked. To this, Coal had raised his right arm to attack only to find a small flutter of something fall of his arm. Then another, and another and another, soon, the length of his arm from his hand to midway towards his elbow was neatly skin stripped.
Jackal stroked the brim of his hat, lifting it, he looked at his now captive audience with a look that some might simply take as a smile, but in grim reality was so much more.
"Bloody Ribbons." The stripped area of Coal's arm burst, or actually exploded violently. Laughing Phantom, for a moment dropped the chain from his fingertips.
"Wha-?" all it takes is one instant of vulnerability. The Jackal was no less than an atoms distance from the Horrible Clown in the time it takes a physicist to compute one plus one. In a storm of a three scalpels, the connecting chain was cut.
"Vulnerability, Phantom…a grievous sin." Acting even before the chains could snap, he Jackal shredded the metallic bonds to individual links. Not even a moment passed when the Jackal cut Phantom some deep gashes all over his body. Then, five scalpels managed to find their way into the horrible creatures beautiful and hideous visage.
"Oh…my…Go-" Himiko managed to mutter out, seeing Laughing Phantoms body keel over and collapse, his flat top derby hat rolling on its side until finally settling near the mans foot.
Naturally after this terrible display of one man taking the life of another in the most bloody and gruesome way possible, the next few moments were a bit awkward. Before Himiko could speak, she noticed the look on Akabanes' face, it was not sad or anything remotely close. Actually, the look was more like one of surprise followed by a monsters understanding of his own tendencies. Akabane closed his now violet eyes and breathed deep.
"…Uh…huh...ah…" some incoherent mumblings brought the pair of transporters back to their current situation. First Himiko, then Akabane turned to find the source of the noise, which had quickly escalated into albeit loud but somewhat human yelling.
"Dr. Jackal, Coal is-" Himiko began.
"He is free now Miss Himiko. I gave him a choice…" Himiko and he looked at the bloody stub his right arm was.
"And we both agreed the price was worth the result."
To Be Continued
Authors Notes: This chapter took me roughly two weeks to write from start to finish. I had to use a combination of my own computer at home and my schools computers (like the one I'm using to type this, I guess maybe I should actually be trying to TA) courtesy of a floppy disk. I felt it was worth it. I've actually trumped myself in terms of length, just a few weeks ago I had written my longest single paper in one of my other stories, this was almost double that, jeez. Some of you might be wondering about the extended length, well the answer is this. I felt that my updates were getting too distant from one another, and when I did actually update with only two or three thousand words, it seemed like you guys weren't getting the bang you deserved. Also, I felt that the story was moving too slowly, and at the rate I was going with everything planned out in my head, the story would hit something like eighty chapters. Not that I'm trying to rush, I just think you guys deserve more, or something.
So, I have to ask, which do you guys prefer? More but shorter updates? Or longer spaces between updates but more to them? Now for the (insert long awaited) review response.
Kore Yan: Hey, thank you for reviewing the story! And to you query…well…things don't look too advantageous for our clown friend now do they? Glad you enjoyed chapter seven, and I hope you like this one too.
Atropos' Knife: Thanks for the feedback, yeah yeah I know ol'LP isn't the most conventional guy to pal around with but give him time and…(looks at chapter again)…apparently never mind. For the Ginji spelling, I see that now, I guess the pressures getting to me, huh? Heh. In terms of the grossness you were talking about, don't worry, if this chapter didn't sate your thirst for it (something wrong with all of us I swear) then the next few chapters definitely will. I look forward to any and all feedback from you, and I hope you enjoyed the writing.
Rabid Lola: Thank you once again for taking the time to review this story, it's cool to have something resembling devoted fans! As for the ecci thing, well if it means what I think it means than I guess I'll have to agree. If you thought that LP and his power were gross, then I guess I'll just say thank you. I was thinking for a while just what power to give him, though the image of him with someone else in a chain was the first image I ever had of him. Yeah, the Get Backers are in trouble again, business as usual and the Jackal is quite badass as you can see. The character bombs are loaded and ready, awaiting command, or something like that. I hope you enjoy your summer break (months away for me…joy) and about the whole –chan thing, I put in a few more now but bare in mind I only read and watch the American Get Backers manga and anime respectively. So my knowledge of Japanese honorifics is basic at best. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Well, it came and went didn't it? Hope you enjoyed reading it; I should have for all the school time I wasted (not really, you get the idea). I will definitely see you all when I see you, next time.